First BEDNAR Machines Started to Work on Chinese Fields with Success

Chinese agriculture is developing and the older technology no longer meets the modern demands. Last year, BEDNAR delivered the first seed drills to China. In spring 2018, there were pilot demonstrations for prospective buyers. We could not miss events of such importance.

Pilot Offer for China: OMEGA OO 4000 Seed Drill with Ferti Equipment

The first machine selected to be offered to the Chinese farmers by our local dealer, AGTOPMACH, was the OMEGA OO 4000 seed drill with the Ferti equipment. The machine was put into operation in 2017 and the first trial hectares were processed with success. In spring 2018, it was commissioned and demonstrated to customers for the first time.

Meanwhile, another combination of machines arrived in China – FERTI-BOX FB 3000 with the TERRALAND TN 3000 H7R chisel plough in the RT version. We also set off to support our Chinese colleagues from a technical aspect and to check how the machines work in the local conditions.

OMEGA OO 4000 Seed Drill in Two Different Types of Soil

The first two days of the Omega machine were reserved for wheat seeding in combination with additional NPK fertilisation between rows. The seeding took place near the city of Ergun in the northwest of the Chinese autonomous area of Inner Mongolia.

Two very different soils were selected for seeding:

Loosened field after peas: The soil was very soft, loose, black soil without visible signs of microorganisms.

Oil seed rape stubble field, sometimes “cultivated” by burning: The soil was very fine and “dead”.

Even though the soil conditions on both fields were identical, we decided for a different machine adjustment. In the first case, we did not use the disc section and we set the coulter pressure to minimum. Due to the slipping of the pulling vehicle, the set moved at the maximum working speed of 8–10 km/h.

On the second field, there were no issues with traction and so the set could drive at a speed of 12–15 km/h without problems. The disc section was set at a working depth of 6 cm and the pressure to about half the maximum value. The working depth of the drill coulters was around the maximum value, i.e. 6 cm. The seed batch was 273 kg/ha and the fertiliser batch was 255 kg/ha.

First use of Omega

Omega in the oil seed rape stubble field

First Task for the FERTI-BOX + TERRALAND Set: Fertilise Soil at Two Depth Levels

That was followed with the assembly of the FB and TN-RT machines in connection with the pulling vehicle, which was a New Holland tractor for the first ride. The task was to fertiliser the soil profile at two depth levels:

The maximum working depth – set at 35-40 cm.

Just below the surface.

The batch was set at 140 kg of nitrogen fertiliser from one chamber of the FB machine and 150 kg of combined NPK fertiliser from the second chamber. The FERTI-BOX had no problem with dispensing these amounts. Everything took place according to the customer’s wishes.

FB 3000 and TN 3000 HM 7RT set ready for work

Subsoil Tillage by a Terraland: Advantages of the Additional Rear Packer Design

As far as subsoil tillage using TN-RT is concerned, the design with the additional rear packer proved to be beneficial. TERRALAND itself with the spiked tandem rollers would get clogged in the sandy soil conditions and the speed of the set would be reduced unnecessarily. Thanks to the rear rubber-tyred packer, the machine has something to lean against in the light soil. The speed of the set was basically only limited by the power of the pulling vehicle. We mostly moved at a speed of about 7–9 km/h.

Work of the spiked rollers and the rear packer

A fully mounted set

Real Test No. 2: Subsoil Tillage and Fertilisation of a Field near Ulanhot

After two trouble-free days of work, we transported the set to the city of Ulanhot, approx. 750 km away. The task was the same: Till the subsoil and incorporate fertiliser at two depth levels of the soil profile.

Here, we aggregated the set with a CASE Magnum tractor. The soil conditions were substantially lighter and the field was contaminated in some places. The machine had to be slightly recessed to a working depth of approx 30 cm and the set had to slow down to 7 km/h. After that, it worked to the full satisfaction of the local farmers.

Technical support “in action”

Second demonstration of the FB+TN set

Other BEDNAR Machines Headed to China

Other machines from our portfolio that will go to China area MULCHER MZ 6000 and a ROW-MASTER RN 3000 S inter-row cultivator. As far as the cultivator is concerned, it is the smallest version of the machine, fully mechanically controlled, i.e. without the automated CultiCam guiding.

The task of the mulcher will be to convince traditional Chinese farmers that burning stubble fields is not a suitable solution for post-harvest management. The MULCHER has great potential in the Chinese conditions, even with regard to the soil quality described above.

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